Laramie Hosts 4A East Regional Wrestling Tournament

Friday and Saturday at Laramie High School, the Plainsmen will host the 4A East Regional Wrestling Tournament. Individuals from the six high schools in the conference will vie for a spot in the 4A State Tournament bracket next weekend in Casper.

Along with LHS, Cheyenne Central, Cheyenne East, Cheyenne South, Gillette and Sheridan will be competing over the two days of action on the mats.

Fourth year Laramie head coach Larry Deals knows it's takes a lot of work to host an event like this, but he's glad it's here. Deal says, "It has involved a lot of meetings about how we're going to run things and that kind of stuff. It's nice to have Regionals here at home, especially since the group of seniors I've got started with me as Freshmen. It's nice to host Regionals this year."

After weigh-ins and a coaches seeding meeting, wrestling will begin at 1 p.m. Friday on three mats. The action will take wrestlers up to the Championship semifinals and through the consolation quarterfinals. Wrestling will resume Saturday at 9:30 a.m. on two mats, with two more rounds in the consolation bracket followed by the Championship semifinals and the Championship finals.

Gillette is the favorite to win the team title with Cheyenne East looking like a strong second. Sheridan and Central are expected to battle for third place.

Where do the Laramie Plainsmen stand? Deal explains that their looking less at the team standings and more at individual placings. Deal says, "We've been giving up three or four weight classes all year, so when you do that, it's really hard to get a good place (team-wise). When we look at the individual performances, that's really where we're focused and getting those seeds for next week at the State Tournament."

Tickets for the event on Friday cost $4.00 for adults and $3.00 for students. Saturday is $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for students. You can purchase an All-Session pass for $9.00 as an adult and for $6.00 as a student.

All wrestling will be in the main gym at Laramie High School.